Glitter Trail
by Solo Rider
Summary: A neigh more like a scream awoke Sam early one Saturday morning. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stretched, and realized the neigh was not from one of the Riverbend ranch horses, rating may change UPDATED, CHAPTER SIX IS UP!
1. Screams in the dark

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Phantom Stallion characters. I do own any characters you don't recognize though.

Glitter Trail

By Solo Rider

Chapter One

A neigh more like a scream awoke Sam early one Saturday morning. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stretched, and realized the neigh was not from one of the Riverbend ranch horses. She knew every horse's neigh, and that was defiantly not one of them. The neigh sort of sounded like Dark Sunshine's, over a year ago when she still belonged to the wild horse rustlers.

Getting out of bed, she went to the window and peered into the darkness, hoping to see the horse that had neighed. She could barely make out the outline of a fully saddled, but riderless horse standing in front of the big ranch house.

Acting quickly, Sam pulled on a pair of jeans and an old green sweater. By the time she got into the kitchen, Dad, Brynna and Gram were already there.

"Woke you up too did she?" Dad asked. Sam nodded. Dad and Brynna were pulling on their boots, so Sam did the same. Gram was making coffee.

"She'll get too scared if there's too many people, I'll just stay in here." She said, practically pushing Sam outside.

Outside, Sam could see the horse more clearly. It was a small mare, a Thoroughbred mare it looked like. She was a bay, with a big blaze and two socks on her back legs. And she was bleeding. There were cuts and scratches all over her body, and all of them looked fresh. Her reins were hanging down, dragging on the ground, and the saddle was muddy.

"Easy girl, easy. We won't hurt you." Dad said in a soothing voice. The filly rolled her eyes and backed up a few steps, staring at Dad. Slowly, Dad inched closer, but the filly kept backing up.

Finally, Dad was close enough to grab the reins, and he did. When the filly felt a little tug on the reins, she went crazy. With another screaming neigh, she reared up, pawing the air with her front legs. Dad just managed to get out of the weigh as she came down and immediately reared up again. When she touched back down again, she charged.

"Watch out!" Brynna yelled as the filly ran straight for Sam. Sam wanted to run, she really did, but she was frozen to the spot.

The filly was only feet away when she stopped; dust spraying Sam in the face. With a snort, the filly regarded Sam, her head turned to one side so she only looking at Sam with one eye.

"Sam! Are you okay?" Dad asked, his face white. Slowly, Sam nodded, afraid to move fast in case she startled the filly.

Slowly, Dad pulled on the reins, asking the filly to come to him. She did, acting like nothing had happened.

"I'm going to unsaddle you and put you in with Ace and Sweetheart. Then Brynna and I will saddle up and go look for your owner. Sam will call Jake and then the two of them will go look too." Dad said, pretending to talk to the filly, but really he was talking to Sam and Brynna. Brynna nodded and went to the barn and grabbed two halters. She caught Jeepers Creepers, a young rattail appaloosa, and Nike, a bright sorrel gelding.

"Sam, go call Jake." Brynna said softly. Sam nodded, and quickly went into the house, glancing at Dad before she did. He was leading the filly into the barn.

Gram was in the kitchen when Sam went into the house. Grabbing the phone, Sam quickly dialed the Ely's phone number and waited. She was just about to hang-up when Jake answered.

"Hullo." He said. Sam smiled. As annoying as Jake could be, he was still her best friend.

"Think you can be over here in an hour for a search party?" She asked. There was a pause.

"What'd you mean?" Jake asked.

"A bay thoroughbred filly showed up here, fully saddled, but without a rider. She's in pretty bad shape too, all cut up and stuff. Dad wanted to know if you could help me look, while he and Brynna look too." Sam said. She could hear Jake take a breath before he answered.

"Fine, but I want to take a look at this filly before we go." He said.

"Fair enough, just hurry up and get here!" Sam said.

"Have you called everyone else? Sheriff Ballard or Jen?" Jake asked. Even though Jake couldn't see her, Sam shook her head.

"No, I will as soon as I get off the phone with you." She said.

Ten minutes later, Sam was outside, leaning against the barn pen, watching the thoroughbred filly munch on some hay. Dad and Brynna had already ridden out towards Wild Horse Valley, Jen's parents had ridden out towards Willow Springs Wild Horse center, and Jen and Ryan Slocum were checking out all of the land Gold Dust Ranch owned. Sam and Jake were going to check War Drum Flats out. As soon as Jake got here that was.

"I wish he'd hurry up so we could go find your owner." Sam said to the filly. The filly snorted and trotted a few feet away. She stopped and looked at Sam wearily. Slowly, she inched closer to the hay, keeping her eyes on Sam at all times.

"You poor girl, what happened to you?" Sam asked, studying all the scratches over the filly's body. They had stopped bleeding now, but the cuts were still ugly looking.

"That's what were going to find out, as soon as you saddle up Ace." Jake's voice came from behind Sam. Turning around, Sam looked at the boy who looked more like a bad-guy from an old western movie than a sixteen-year-old teenager. Beside him, instead of Witch, his black Quarter Horse mare, was Star, his black pinto filly. Sam was surprised. She hadn't seen Jake ride Star since a race they had been in a few months ago.

"Is that her?" Jake said. Sam nodded and turned back to the filly. She had stopped eating and was now standing by the fence, her head hanging over it, looking eagerly at Star. Star nickered to her.

"She seems friendly." Jake said. Sam nodded. Though she hadn't really paid any attention to Ace or Sweetheart yet, the filly hadn't been mean to them. And Ace and Sweetheart didn't seem too interested in her.

"Hurry up." Jake said after a minute of silence. Sam glared at him. He had just gotten here and he was already bossing her around!

Sam grabbed Ace's lead rope, and very carefully slipped into the barn corral. Right away Ace came over to her, nudging her softly.

"Hey baby, want to go for a ride?" Sam asked with a smile. Ace snorted softly. The little mustang leaned against Sam and sighed. Smiling, Sam clipped the lead rope onto Ace's halter.

"Hurry up brat!" Jake said. Sam glared at him, but she led Ace towards the gate. Then, before either of them could do something, the filly, who had been eating beside the gate, totally uninterested in them, ran for the gate and hit it with her chest, knocking Jake down. With a buck and a rear, the filly was free.


	2. Fallen

Thanks GhostKitty00 for being my first reviewer!

Firefly-Crystal Tears, I don't know yet, they might and might not, I haven't really thought about that yet.

Glitter Trail

By Solo Rider

Chapter Two

"Watch out!" Jake yelled, but he didn't have to worry. Automatically, Sam ducked, even though the filly was nowhere near her. Ace snorted loudly and stepped back, tossing his head.

The filly ran a little ways, bucking every now and then, and then she slid to a stop, dust spraying everywhere. Looking at Sam and Jake, the filly sighed, as if she was waiting for them.

"I swear that she wants us to follow her." Sam stammered, a little frightened still. Brushing the dust off of his black Stetson, Jake nodded.

"And we'll do that, because I doubt either of us will be able to catch her again. Now hurry up and saddle-up Ace!"

In ten minutes, the bay filly was leading Jake and Sam over the bridge, across the highway and onto War Drum Flats. The filly was loping, fast. Ace and Star nearly had to gallop to keep up.

"She must have racing blood in her." Jake called to Sam. Sam nodded. She didn't feel like talking. She was just enjoying being on Ace is wild country. Though she was afraid no one would find the filly's owner.

"Uh-oh, looks like trouble." Jake said. Sam looked at him, and then looked at where he was pointing. The Phantom was standing behind a bunch of bushes, his ears pricked forward. But he wasn't watching Sam, he was watching the filly.

With a loud ringing neigh, Phantom trotted forward towards the filly. Immediately, the filly laid her ears back and snapped at the stallion. She raised a hind hoof in warning, daring him to come closer. The Phantom looked surprised. His mares never acted like this.

With a low nicker, the Phantom tried to romance the filly. The filly just snorted loudly and kept trotting forward, totally ignoring the great silver stallion. Suddenly, the Phantom was all stallion. He nipped the filly on the back, trying to drive her to his secret valley. But in one swift moment, the filly kicked out with both hind legs, getting the Phantom square in the chest.

The great stallion looked shocked. With a shake of his head, he reared and took off. Before he disappeared, he looked back at the filly, as if promising her he would be back. The filly laid her ears flat against her head.

"Phantom's never had that happen before." Jake said. Sam nodded and stared in amazement at the filly. She'd never seen a mare kick the stallion before.

Soon they were out of sight of the road, and the filly was trotting with newfound energy. She neighed, and in the distance, a horse neighed back. Ace pricked his ears forward and whinnied loudly. A horse whinnied back.

"Think that's just mustangs?" Sam asked. Jake shrugged, but he didn't speak. Sam bit her lip. In a way, she hoped it was mustangs, she loved seeing mustangs, but she also hoped it was a rider with some good news.

It was a rider, but a new one. A boy, about the same age of Jake, was on a beautiful bay Paint Horse stallion. When the filly saw the rider, she whinnied loudly and galloped to the horse and rider. The stallion whinnied loudly, and the pair touched noses, nuzzling each other.

"Where did you find her?" The boy asked, his voice white. Sam hesitated before answering.

"She came to my ranch, all saddled up and everything. Are you her owner?" She asked, not bothering to introduce herself since the boy hadn't. The boy shook his head.

"No, my sister owns her, but I can't find my sister." He said. Jake was studying the boy's horse.

"There's several people out looking for her, you want to come with us?" Jake asked. Sam looked at him, shocked. Jake was never this friendly to people he just met, in fact, he was never this friendly! The boy looked surprised too, but he nodded.

"Sure, but Socks will probably lead us right to Katiy. Oh, by the way, I'm Alan." The boy said. "And this is Socks and Target."

"I'm Sam, and this is Jake. This little guy is Ace, and she's Star." Sam said, rubbing Ace's neck. Star nickered softly, as if introducing herself to the stallion.

"Where's the last place you saw your sister?" Jake asked, starting to get impatient. Alan thought for a moment.

"We were racing each other and a herd of mustangs. Socks is faster then Target, so Target was behind, and Socks and that stud were having a speed duel. Our other horses were lagging behind, so I stopped so they could catch up. When I looked back, Katiy and Socks were gone, and so was that stud. Only his mares were there." He said. At the word "mustang" Sam's head whipped up. Was he talking about the Phantom?

"What colour was the mustang stud?" She asked, her voice wobbling a bit. Was there a chance the Phantom was the reason the girl was missing.

"He was as black as night with a roan mare, and a bay mare with a black foal." Alan said. Sam sighed in the relief.

"That's New Moon than." Sam said, looking at Jake. Jake nodded.

"We were racing back there a bit when she disappeared." Alan said. He stopped talking and stared at Socks.

"What happened to her? She wasn't like that before!" He said. It took Sam a moment to realize he was talking about the scratches. Sam shrugged.

"That's how she was when she showed up at my ranch. My dad unsaddled her and put her in a corral, but she got out when I was taking Ace out." She said. Alan shook his head.

"That's Socks for you, she's got an attitude problem." He said. With a worried look, he looked around.

"Let's get going." He said. Sam and Jake nodded. With a snort, Socks took off at a fast lope again.

They hadn't been riding for long when they heard a girl's voice from behind a big clump of bushes. Along with the voice, Sam could her hoof beats.

"You should've run you silly horse! They could've gotten you! I guess we're both lucky than." The girl said. Socks ears pricked forward and she started galloping. She disappeared behind the bushes and neighed loudly.

"Socks! What are you doing here? Where's your saddle and bridle?" The girl cried, sounding surprised.

"Katiy, is that you?" Alan asked. A few seconds later, a blonde girl peered around the bush. She smiled and ran over to them, Socks right behind her.

"Alan! How did you find me?" She cried.

"Socks led us to you." He said. Katiy smiled and turned to Socks and hugged the filly. Socks snorted softly and rested her head on Katiy's shoulder. Her body shook as she shied in relief.

"What happened, why did you end up way over here and Socks all scratched up?" Alan said. Katiy was silent for moment, but when she turned back to look at Alan, there were tears in her eyes.

"They're here. They're here in Nevada."


	3. Them

Firefly-Crystal Tears, I've been thinking about it more, I really have. They might, but I don't know if I'm good at writing romances.

Glitter Trail

By Solo Rider

Chapter Three

"Who's here in Nevada?" Jake asked after a minute of silence. Both Katiy and Alan jumped, as if they'd forgotten Jake and Sam were still here.

"No one, no one." Alan said quickly. Katiy looked at the ground, avoiding looking at Sam and Jake. It was so easy to tell they were hiding something.

"Who's here?" Jake asked again. This time, neither Alan nor Katiy answered. Socks still had her head resting on Katiy's shoulder, but she was eyeing Jake with an almost angry expression.

"Who's here?" Jake repeated. Though the shade from his Stetson hid his face, Sam could tell by his voice that Jake was starting to get angry. Socks snorted at his tone.

"No one that concerns you!" Alan said in a funny voice. He was glaring at Jake. Katiy looked up, tears in her eyes.

"They deserve to know, I mean, if they show up at their ranch…" Katiy trailed off and looked at Socks. Her eyes wandered over the scratches covering the filly.

"I mean, look what they did to Socks, and we were running at full speed most of the time. If they show up at their ranch, that little bay gelding has no chance. You and I both know Socks is stronger than most horses, and they almost got her." She said. Alan was silent. Finally he sighed.

"Fine, but I doubt they'll believe you." He said. Than, without a word, he kicked Target hard in the side. With a loud snort, the stallion reared up, and than took off at a gallop. Socks watched as they went and whinnied loudly, but she stayed with Katiy.

"Alan and I aren't from around here. We're from Alberta, and that's where we lived, until last year." Katiy said. She stopped, absent-mindedly rubbing Socks' forehead.

"Why?" Sam asked. She was curious now.

"I don't know why they want us, but they do. I don't know if it's because of the horses, or because of our parents. But they're after us, and they won't stop until they have us. They have things, I don't know what they are, but they can hurt a horse bad even when it's going at a full gallop. Socks didn't slow down once when we went by them, but look at her! Look what they did to him!" Katiy said, staring over her shoulder. It was than that Sam finally noticed New Moon.

The great black stallion had scratches just liked Socks, but he also had a deep cut on his hock. New Moon snorted warily as he watched them, ready to run at the slightest thing.

"And they're here, they've found us. I don't know how, but they have." Katiy said. Socks stamped her foot as if in agreement.

"You'll have to tell Wyatt that once we get back to the ranch." Jake said. Katiy looked up at him in alarm.

"I can't go back with you guys, you'll all get hurt, like before." She said.

"There's a lot of people out looking for you, you have to come back with us." Jake insisted. Katiy shook her head.

"I can't go back with you." She said. Jake gave her a lopsided grin.

"If you want your saddle and bridle, you'll come with us."

Sorry it's short I've been having a writer's block lately, and that's the most creativity I could come up with. I promise the next chapter will be longer, and I'll try and update sooner.


	4. Race Time

Glitter Trail

By Solo Rider

Chapter Four

Katiy glared at Jake for a moment, but than she sighed. Socks, upset by Katiy's sudden anger, stamped her foot angrily.

"Fine, you win, we'll go back to your ranch, but we're leaving as soon as we can." She said, still glaring. Jake just nodded, a smug smile on his face. Even though Sam knew Katiy and Alan had to come back to Riverbend, she wanted to slap Jake.

"Where'd your brother go?" Jake asked, looking around. There was no one around them, just white playa as far as the eye could see. There were a few bushes, but no sign of the boy and his painted stallion.

"Probably to get our other horses." Katiy said. Both Jake and Sam were surprised, they had more horses?

"You mean you have more horses?" Sam asked. She knew she sounded a little weird, but Katiy didn't seem to notice.

"Of course, we didn't ride all the way from Alberta just on two horses! We have six others." She said. It made enough sense.

"Where are the other horses?" Jake asked. Katiy was silent for a moment, thinking.

"About five miles back that way, we have a little camp set up." She said. "We should probably go get him before we got to your ranch." They way Katiy said it; it was more like do it or die.

Jake nodded and than looked at Ace and than down at Star. Sam knew what he was thinking, which horse would carry double easier. Sam was surprised by his answer.

"You can ride double with Sam, Ace won't mind." He said. Katiy looked a little confused, than shook her head.

"No thanks, I'll ride Socks." She said. Sam and Jake glanced at each other.

"Without any gear?" Sam asked slowly. Katiy nodded, and than she glared at Sam.

"What, you don't think I can do it?" She asked, insulted. Sam was taken back.

"Oh yeah, I mean no, I mean I think you can." She said slowly. Katiy glared at her, and slowly patted Socks back. Than, in one quick movement, she mounted, and the filly stood statue-still. Katiy smiled and stroked the filly's neck.

"How fast are your horses?" Katiy asked. Sam started to answer, but Jake interrupted her.

"Fast enough, Star's an Indian pony and Ace is a Mustang." He said. Katiy nodded thoughtfully, studying Star and Ace.

"I'll race ya." She said. "It'll be faster."

Sam started to say no, but Jake answered for her.

"Okay, which direction?" He asked. Katiy pointed west.

"That way for five miles." She said. Sam glared at Jake. She wasn't afraid to gallop, but race, that was a different story!

Katiy wrapped her hands in Socks' mane, and waited for Jake to tell them to go. Sam also grabbed Ace's mane. The little gelding, feeling her tension, pranced nervously. So did Socks and Star, Star actually reared.

Once he had Star under control, Jake signaled them to go. Sam kicked Ace lightly, just wanting him to gallop not too fast, but Katiy and Socks took off like a bullet, with Star and Jake right behind them. Ace didn't like being left behind, and raced after them.

The ground was bumpy, and Sam felt herself go off balance. Ace felt her it too, and swerved to the left, the side most of her weight was on. Quickly, Sam centered herself and got the gelding going straight after the two fillies.

After what seemed like forever, Star and Socks slowed down. Ace caught up once the two fillies were trotting. Katiy and Socks looked happy. Sam knew they must've won, Jake and Star looked a little disappointed.

Than, something black in the middle of the trail made Sam cry out.

"Watch out, a wolf!" She cried. Both Ace and Star snorted and reared, freaked out by the wolf, watching them intently with its yellow eyes. Jake and Sam through their weight against their horse's necks, trying to get them to put all four feet on the ground. Finally, the two horses calmed down, eyeing the wolf warily.

"That's not a wolf, that's my dog, Si. She's half Border collie half husky." Katiy said, trying not to laugh. Jake stared at the dog for a moment.

"Sure looks wolf." He said. Katiy nodded.

"Yeah, many people think she is." She said, looking at Sam. Sam felt her cheeks grow hot and knew she was blushing.

"Is your camp around here?" Jake asked. Katiy nodded.

"We're at it, I see Alan already packed everything up." She said, looking around. Than she whistled and listened intently. After a moment, there was a high-pitched whinny, followed by another one. Socks' ears pricked forward and she returned the whinnies with her own, loud, ringing neigh. Soon, two little foals came galloping from behind a big rock. Once foal was a sorrel overo paint, while the other was a little bay filly that looked exactly like Socks.

Katiy smiled and whistled again, this time loud and long. In a few seconds, Sam could hear hoof beats, and a tall black mare and a smaller bay tobiano filly came out from behind a different rock, a big pack on the black mare.

Katiy was silent, thinking, and than she turned to Si, who was still standing in the middle of the trail.

"Si, go get Alan, go get him girl!" She said. With an excited bark, Si took off behind the rock the foals had come from. In a few minutes, Sam heard barking. Soon, Alan rode out from behind the rock, on Target, with a bay gelding and a buckskin mare following him.

"We have to go to their ranch, I need my gear." Katiy said simply. Alan just nodded and clucked to the two horses following him.

"These are our other horses. The bay foal is Pendulum, and her brother is Trigger. My black mare is Raven, and her friend is Compromise. Alex's bay gelding is Pawnee, and his friend is Darklight." Katiy said. Jake nodded, and Sam was busy studying the horses.

Pendulum was a lot smaller than Trigger, but was the spitting image of Socks; her mane even went on both sides of her neck like Socks'. Trigger was sorrel with white zigzags all over his body. With a wide blaze and four stockings, he was beautiful. Raven was tall; she too looked like a thoroughbred. There was no white on her whatsoever. Compromise was smaller, with a blaze and four stockings. Pawnee was small, and was falling asleep. He looked like Socks' brother, with a white strip like a twister going down his face. Darklight reminded Sam of Dark Sunshine, the buckskin mare she had rescued over a year ago. Darklight was small, and looked like a mustang. The only difference between the two mares were that Darklight was a lot lighter, was covered in scars, and had a big brand on her shoulder.

Sam started to say something, but than she heard a motor, from a truck or a car. The sound kept getting closer and closer. Katiy and Alan stared at each other, a look of horror on their faces.

"We have to get out of here. You guys need to run as fast as you can. If they catch you, they'll kill you." Alan said, as a mud-yellow truck came into view.

With a loud whistle and nod at Alan, Katiy clapped her heels to Socks side. The filly reared, and lunged forward. Alan and Jake did the same. Sam didn't have to, Ace knew the truck meant danger, and he galloped after the others, the mud-yellow truck in pursuit.


	5. Jump

Glitter Trail

By Solo Rider

Chapter Five

Sam hung onto the horn desperately as Ace sprinted across the playa. His mane whipped her face as she leaned forward, but Sam didn't care. All she cared about was escaping the truck that was coming up fast behind them.

To her right, Sam could see Alan and Target swerve off behind a big rock, Pawnee and Darklight following close behind them. Jake followed him, leaving Sam and Katiy out in the open with the truck.

Underneath her, to Sam's horror, Sam felt Ace start to slow down as the gelding became tired. He was sweating like Sam had never seen before, and she knew he couldn't keep this pace going forever. With wide-eyes, Sam looked over to Katiy, who was galloping not too far away from her.

"Sam, jump off of Ace onto Compromise, it's your only chance!" Katiy called, nodding to the little bay paint, who swerved closer to Ace. Soon, Compromise was so close that Sam was brushing the filly's coat with her foot.

"No, I can't leave Ace!" Sam cried, clinging desperately to the horn. If she left Ace, whoever was in the truck might hurt him!

"Sam, it's your only chance! Jump now before they get you!" Katiy yelled. As much as Sam didn't want to, she knew she had to. The truck was almost upon them now. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Sam jumped.

She landed with a thud on Compromise's back, and nearly fell. Only by grabbing the filly's white-streaked mane did Sam manage to stay aboard the filly, who started galloping faster, leaving Ace behind.

Glancing back, Sam saw Raven cut Ace off and lead him away from the truck. The truck kept going, ignoring the two horses. Sam let out a breath of relief and turned to look back in front of her.

Since Compromise didn't have anything on her but a faded purple halter, Sam just let her follow Socks and Katiy.

Katiy and Socks leaped onto a barely visible deer trail, Compromise followed them. Sam hung onto the paint's mane as she jumped over a log to get onto the trail, and went as fast as she could up a shale hillside. By the time they reached the top, Compromise was soaked with sweat, but other than that, it didn't show that she was tired. She ran just as fast as she had before as she followed Socks down another trail, away from the awful truck.

Katiy didn't stop Socks or speak to Sam until they were several miles away from the truck, in the middle of nowhere. Finally, Katiy slowed Socks enough so Compromise could catch up.

""That, is why we didn't want you guys involved."

Hours later, after darkness had fallen, Sam and Katiy rode into Riverbend ranch. All the lights in the house were on, and Sam knew that there was a search party out for them.

Out in the ten-acre pasture, Sam counted eight horses, three more than there should've been. Squinting, Sam could just barely make out Star's bright white patches.

Even though she was exhausted and scared, Sam couldn't help but smile. If Star was here, that meant that Jake and Alan were here too.

By the time Compromise and Socks halted in front of the big ranch house, Dad, Gram and Brynna were already outside, waiting for them.

Dad pulled Sam off of Compromise without saying anything, and immediately pulled her into a big bear hug. Sam hugged him back, finally crying, realizing how easily she could've died.

"Oh Dad, I'm sorry!" She cried, not exactly sure why she was apologizing. Dad didn't care though; he just nodded and hugged Sam tighter.

"Jake told us what happened honey; it's going to be alright." Dad said. Sam just nodded, though deep in her heart, she had a feeling that Dad was wrong.

Katiy slid off of Socks' back and stood on shaking legs. Immediately, Brynna reached out and helped Katiy steady herself. Katiy whispered her thanks, and Brynna nodded.

"Come on, let's get you two inside." Brynna said. Katiy hesitated and looked back at her two horses.

"Don't worry about them dear; Pepper will take care of them." Gram said. Katiy didn't look convinced, but she let Brynna lead her inside.

Inside, sitting at the kitchen table were Jake and Alan. Both of them looked exhausted. Neither of them said anything though, they just stared at Sam and Katiy.

"Sheriff Ballad is on his way out here, but I'll call Gold Dust and the Three Ponies to tell them the search is over." Brynna said. Dad nodded in agreement, and turned to Sam and Katiy as Brynna reached for the phone.

"Tell me everything, right now, everything you know." Dad said, staring at Katiy.

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update, I had a writer's block on this story, and things going on with my own horses. And sorry for the crappy ending.


	6. Time To Talk

Glitter Trail

By Solo Rider

Chapter Six

Katiy took a deep breath and glanced at her brother nervously. Alan was staring at the wall straight ahead of him, ignoring everyone around him. Jake was sitting beside him, looking at his hands, not offering Katiy any support. Sam got the feeling that Jake thought that Katiy was the cause they had been chased by the truck, and he was mad at her.

"I don't know who they are, or why they want us, but they won't stop until they have Alan and I. They followed us here from Alberta, and they'll follow us wherever we go. They hurt anyone who tries to help us, and if we don't leave tonight, they're going to hurt you guys." Katiy said, staring Dad right in the eye. How, Sam didn't know, she was never able to. But she got the feeling Katiy was trying to get Dad to understand the urgency of the situation.

"I need more information." Dad said. Both Katiy and Alan stared at him in surprise. Glancing at Alan, Katiy answered.

"That's all we know, that's all the information you're getting." Katiy said. Sam didn't realize it right away, but her hand flew up to her mouth in shock. Jake even looked up quickly at Katiy, and then over to Dad, watching to see what would happen. Neither one of them could believe that Katiy had spoken to Dad like that. By the look on Dad's face, he couldn't believe it either.

They sat in silence, no one knowing what to say. Outside, the wind had picked up, and its howling was the only noise beside the steady rhythm of Blaze's breathing as the dog dozed near the door.

"You have to know more than that." Dad insisted. Katiy shook her head. Sam noticed that Alan rolled his eyes, as if they got told that often.

"Well we don't. Believe me, if we did, we'd let you know!" Katiy said, her voice filled with anger and frustration. Dad stared at her for a second before glancing at Brynna. Brynna just shook her head, and Sam knew she was telling Dad to drop the topic.

They all sat in the kitchen in silence. Sam didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified. They could've easily died back there, and their horses had been running so fast that a single misstep could've caused them to go down.

Sam looked up when the door opened, and jumped when Si came running, Pepper right behind her.

"Si!" Alan cried, jumping to his feet and covering the distance to the dog in two great steps. He immediately knelt down and hugged the black dog. Si barked happily and licked his face, causing Alan to laugh. Everyone was watching them with a smile when there was a knock on the door.

"Hello folks." Sheriff Ballad said, taking off his hat. Everyone but Alan and Katiy responded in a chorus of hellos. As Sheriff Ballad took a step towards the table, Si jumped up and started growling, her golden eyes locked on the Sheriff.

"Si, quit!" Alan said sharply. Immediately the dog's ears dropped and she licked Alan's hand.

"Hello, I'm Sheriff Ballad." The Sheriff said, holding out his hand to Alan. Alan just stared at it until Sheriff Ballad let it fall to his side.

"I'm Alan and that's my sister Katiy." He said, nodding towards Katiy, who was staring intently at the ceiling above Gram's head.

"I'd like to ask these two some questions." Sheriff Ballad said, glancing at Dad. Dad nodded and gave Jake and Sam a look that clearly said, get out of here. Both Sam and Jake rose immediately and left the house, with Pepper right behind them.

"Man are those two weird or what?" Pepper asked when they were getting close to the ten-acre pasture. Sam couldn't help it, she smiled. It felt good that at least one person wasn't all tense and worried after what had happened.

"Yeah, but they're good with horses." Jake said. Both Sam and Pepper stared at him in amazement. Jake rarely said a compliment about anyone, especially not two strangers he'd just met!

"What, they are!" He said when he saw their looks. Sam and Pepper didn't say anything; they just looked away from him to the horses in the pasture.

"I had a hard time getting that bay mare in that pasture." Pepper said, nodding towards Socks. The mare was watching them with her ears pricked forward and almost a glare.

"Yeah, Alan mentioned that she had an attitude problem." Sam said. Pepper laughed loudly, and Sam and Jake stared at him.

"An attitude problem? She has way more than that! She has some trust issues. She kept backing away with her eyes rolling like she'd been abused everyday of her life!" Pepper said. Sam stared at Socks intently, confused.

"Well it can't be Katiy or Alan who's abusing her. It's obvious that Socks loves Katiy, and she doesn't act like that around Alan." She said. Jake nodded, and all three of them stared at the mare.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Sheriff Ballad came out of the house with Dad. From the sounds of it, they were making plans for something. Sam didn't want to eavesdrop, so she stayed by the pasture.

Finally, Sheriff Ballad left, and Sam could go ask Dad what was going on. Jake and Pepper stayed near the pasture, and Sam almost wished they would come with her. But she knew they wouldn't, it was none of their business.

"So, what happened?" Sam asked softly as she approached Dad. Dad sighed and leaned back so he could stare up at the starry sky.

"Well, Sheriff Ballad and I decided that right now, this ranch is the safest place for these kids. Up in Montana once, the police up there kept the kids in a cell to keep them safe, and whoever was after them got into the cell and nearly killed them. Their dog is the only reason they're still alive. At least here on the ranch, if the people after them show up, they won't be cornered." He said, sounding unsure of the decision. Sam couldn't believe it. She was fine with Alan and Katiy staying with them, but Dad's decision could put them all in danger. Sam started to say so, but Dad interrupted her.

"Now don't start on me about everything that could happen, I already know. But there's no where else for those kid to go, and I can't just let them go back out on the range. Why, Katiy's only your age, and Alan is about Jake's age. If someone was after you two, I'd want a family to take you guys in." He said. Sam stared at the ground, feeling ashamed of herself. She hadn't thought of it like that.

"Now come on, we better go make them feel comfortable around here." Dad said, putting his arm around Sam's shoulders and leading her into the house.

Author's Note: Okay this chapter is really short, but hey, at least it's an update! I don't like this chapter, but I think the next one will be better. And sorry again for taking so long to update, I've had so many problems with my horses. Right now my mare has a deep cut on hoof that could've used stitches, but we didn't discover it in time, so yeah. That's why I wish I could keep them at our place. Oh well…


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